The conventional harvesting header comprises a frame for mounting on a crop harvesting machine for movement across ground carrying a crop to be harvested, the frame defining a working width of the header, a table mounted on the frame across the width of the header for receiving the crop when cut for transportation along the header, a cutting knife along a front edge of the table for cutting the crop and a pickup reel mounted above the knife and the table for controlling the crop as it moves onto the table. The reel comprises a main elongate support beam and a plurality of bats at angularly spaced positions around the main beam.
A reel of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,155 assigned to the present assignee. The bat comprises a tube formed from shaped sheet metal and defining a cylindrical section along one edge of the tube so that the cylindrical section can be connected end to end to other such bats by short connecting pipe sections. The pipe sections and the cylindrical section thus define an axis around which the bat rotates. Each finger is inserted into a pocket defined in the sheet metal tube so as to project outwardly in a radial plane of the axis. Each finger is formed from a moulded plastics element defining a single thickness with a slight curvature toward the tip. A button on one end of the finger projects into a hole in the tube to latch the finger in place.
In an alternative construction also previously used, which supersedes that shown in the above patent, there is provided a main longitudinal tube forming the base structure of the bat onto which is welded a plurality of sheet metal holders each for holding a finger of the construction shown in the patent.
These arrangements have some disadvantage in that the sheet metal elements are relatively expensive and in that they mount only a single thickness or strip of the finger so that there is a tendency of the finger to break at or adjacent the edge of the sheet metal element.
A less expensive construction comprises a coiled wire arrangement which defines two parallel spaced fingers connected by a central helical coil section which wraps around the tube. The central coil section is then bolted to the tube by a bolt which passes through diametrically opposed punched holes in the tube. The head of the bolt thus holds down the central section of the coil thus holding the coil in place and maintaining the fingers at a predetermined angular orientation around the axis of the tube.
This arrangement has some disadvantage in that, while it is cheap and easy to manufacture, the use of metal parts on the reel is disadvantageous in that any broken fingers or pieces of finger which enter the crop material pass into and through the combine harvester on which the header is mounted with significant danger of damage to the threshing system.
Another prior art construction manufactured by HCC Inc of Mendota Illinois comprises a moulded plastic finger which has integrally moulded with the finger portion a mounting portion in the form of a collar. The collar wraps wholly around the tube and is squeezed in place by a screw which clamps together two ends of the collar. In order to prevent rotation of the collar on the tube. there is provided a single moulded projection extending radially inwardly from an otherwise cylindrical surface of the collar so as to engage into a hole in the tube. This arrangement has the disadvantage in that it is relatively weak. It is desirable to provide a mounting which allows a user to attach either the wire coil arrangement or the plastic finger depending upon the requirements in particular crop conditions.